Health Now

Brain research shows meditation can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness, The Washington Postreports.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin working with Tibetan monks have been able to show meditating translates into high-frequency gamma waves and brain coordination.

They pinpointed the left prefrontal cortex, a section behind the left forehead, as the place where brain activity associated with meditation is especially intense.

The study demonstrates the brain is capable of being trained and physically modified, instead of being fixed early in life and not changing in adulthood.

An unwanted souvenir from Iraq

Troops in the Middle East have yet another health concern: Baghdad boil.

It's formal name is cutaneous leishmaniasis, a skin disease caused by a parasite that's spread by infected sand flies, according to MayoClinic.com.

Leishmaniasis exists in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and other places in the Middle East.

A few weeks after being bitten from an infected sand fly, people with cutaneous leishmaniasis develop small, reddish bumps on exposed skin.

The bumps enlarge and eventually become open sores.

The sores can heal without treatment, but this may takes months.

Treatment may include: freezing or compounds injected into the affected skin.

But relax, it isn't spread from person to person.

Predicting preeclampsia

A substance in a pregnant woman's urine may help determine whether she's likely to develop preeclampsia later in her pregnancy, WebMD reports.

The fast-developing condition - a cause of high blood pressure during pregnancy - makes it hard for doctors to spot it in time.

But study in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association reports reduced levels of a substance known as placental growth factor (PIGF) starting at weeks 25-28 of pregnancy were associated with a higher risk of developing preeclampsia.

Potential complications of preeclampsia include seizures, brain hemorrhage, uncontrolled bleeding and kidney failure as well as premature delivery, which increases the risk of death in babies.

Ear relief when flying with a cold

Forget chewing gum during takeoffs.

A product called EarPlanes is supposed to relieve pain and ear clogging if you're flying with a cold, sinus problems or allergies, The Miami Herald reports.

The disposable silicone gaskets even out air pressure in the eardrum by blocking the ear canal.

But the plugs must be inserted long before takeoffs and landings.

They are available at Walgreens, Kmart, Rite Aid and Wal-Mart - $5.99 for adults, $4.99 for kids.